Saxony-Anhalt vote tests Germany’s firewall against the far right
The AfD is polling ahead in Saxony-Anhalt, but a failure to win an outright majority could leave it isolated from government.
Voters in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt are casting ballots in an election that could make the Alternative for Germany (AfD) the first far-right party to take state-level power since World War II.
Surveys cited by France 24 place the AfD at just over 40 per cent, ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on 23 per cent. The figures are estimates and do not determine the result.
AfD state leader Ulrich Siegmund has campaigned on what the party calls a “remigration and deportation” offensive, a ban on LGBTQ pride flags at public schools and an end to new wind farms. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency considers the AfD chapter he represents “right-wing extremist”, according to the source.
An absolute majority would allow the AfD to bypass the mainstream parties’ longstanding refusal to work with it. Germany’s proportional electoral system, however, is designed to encourage coalition governments, making a single-party majority difficult.
If the AfD falls short, coalition talks could last weeks and will depend on which parties clear the five per cent threshold. A CDU-led administration under incumbent premier Sven Schulze is described as the most likely outcome, although the party has ruled out cooperation with the AfD and the Left Party.
The election is being watched as a test of Merz’s government and of the AfD’s ambitions ahead of the 2029 federal election. Initial results are expected shortly after polls close, around 6pm local time.
